Author and researcher Nancy Mikula has a passion for exploring backroads and discovering little-known historic sites. Her articles on travel, historic, and human-interest subjects have appeared in numerous magazines in the United States and Canada, including Maturity, Leisureways, and Writer's Digest. In addition to collaborating on South Carolina's Plantations and Historic Homes, she recently authored the DK Top Ten Guide to Santa Fe, the DK Top Ten Guide to San Antonio. She is co-author of several books, including the Eyewitness Travel Guide Arizona & the Grand Canyon. She spends her winters enjoying the warmth of coastal South Carolina.